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November 11, 2012

Johnny Beats Goliath

By - Lauren Dundee

Saturday night marked one of the biggest turning points in college football this season.

#1 Alabama was knocked off at home by #15 Texas A&M.

Yes, the Aggies had been a pleasant surprise in the SEC this season, with a conference record of 5-2, including wins against Mississippi State and Arkansas, and had only lost by 5 to a highly ranked LSU team -- but very few people saw this upset coming.

Texas A&M's stellar season can be attributed to their star quarterback, Johnny Manziel.

Photo by: Getty Images

Also known as "Johnny Football," the freshman out of Tyler, Texas, has put up some remarkable numbers this year, and taken the SEC by storm in the process.

Manziel leads the conference in rushing, and showed his dominance against Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas. He even broke the SEC record for most total yards in a game, only to break it again later.

Still, this was Alabama. When facing one of the top-ranked defenses, he was sure to crumble, right?

The Aggies started strong, going up 20-0 in the first quarter -- the first team to do so against the Crimson Tide in over two years.

But Alabama wouldn't go quietly.

Showing what kind of champions they are, the Tide rallied, and heading into the fourth, A&M's lead had been cut to 20-17. Taylor Bertolet booted a field goal early in the quarter to extend the lead to 6 for the Aggies. Alabama looked to answer that score, and quickly marched down to the A&M 38 yard line.

However, much to the chagrin of Tide fans, they coughed up the ball. The Aggies recovered and later scored a touchdown, making the score 29-17.

Once again, the Crimson Tide fought back.

With about 8:00 left on the clock, they responded with a touchdown of their own. Alabama would get the ball back again after forcing an A&M punt with 4:30 to go. A 54-yard completion put the Tide in position to take the lead, first and goal inside the 10.

It looked like the end was near for the Aggies.

But the defense buckled down, and with just over a minute remaining, Bama was faced with a 4th and goal. A.J. McCarron rolled out and threw towards the end zone, but his pass was intercepted by Deshazor Everett.

Tuscaloosa went silent.

Alabama's only hope was to force another A&M punt -- and with 40 seconds remaining, and the Aggies facing a 4th and 1, they appeared to have done just that.

Then the Tide made their biggest, and final, mistake. On the punt, they inexplicably jumped offsides. First down for Texas A&M.

Ballgame.

The #1 team in the nation had fallen. Johnny had beaten Goliath.

Manziel passed for 253 yards and rushed for 92 more, never letting the tough Crimson Tide defense get in his head. He didn't wilt under the pressure -- but instead rose to the occasion, leading his team to what seemed to be a near impossible victory.

No doubt "Johnny Football" and the rest of this A&M team have very bright futures ahead of them in the SEC.